The Second Experiment
by Dillyluver
Summary: The sorcerers are at it again, the fate of a prisoner was altered and put into the dragonslayer's unit. The experiment had been done once before with Dilandau, what would happen this time? NEW CHAPTER!!! Finally, I did it!
1. Haunting Past

  
bChapter 1/b  
  
Standard Disclaimer:  
I don't own Escaflowne or any of the characters or anything else copyrighted that I mention in this story.  
This was made for non-profit reasons, etc, etc, etc.  
  
Author's Notes:  
Please review this story after reading it. Arigatou, minna-san!  
Italics are used for inner thoughts.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
The green guymelef was guarding the entrance to the shrine. Dilandau had found it, this was the one Folken sent him to  
capture. He slowly made his way up to it and slammed the fist of his red Alseides into the melef's stomach. It was easy to  
sneak up on enemies when he had his stealth cloak. Before the operator had time to react, he slammed his fist into it again.  
The green guymelef lost its balance and fell to the ground, dropping the sword. This was way too easy for his liking. After  
beating it severly several times, he noticed that the guymelef pilot was already knocked unconscious. Wasting no time, he  
pulled the bloody, battered body out of the machine. His goal was not to kill but to capture. He had to join up with the rest  
of the dragonslayers soon. He realized that he had done more damage to the body than he thought. There was a deep gash under  
the lip, blood was flowing from it like a fountain, soaking the entire neck. There were some minor scratches on the forehead.  
He looked closer beneath the blood, eyes squinting. The delicate features didn't quite seem like the ones of a man. It was  
a girl.  
  
Dalet was the first dragonslayer to venture into the shrine. As he suspected, the dragon was standing there, and was ready  
to fight. Invisibility was supposed to give him the upper-hand while fighting, but strangly, the white guymelef seemed to  
dodge every crima claw that he shot at it. It was almost like he could see them. He knew the idea was crazy but there was no  
other explanation except dumb luck. He even managed to disarm him of his stealth cloak. He was totally exposed. If Chesta  
hadn't come in at that exact moment, he would've had him for sure. The favor was returned when Chesta was being attacked by  
an old warrior. Dalet managed to save him that time, but his melef was damaged as much as his.  
The two dragonslayers were joined by the rest outside of the shrine. The dragon was cornered. It was perfect until a  
mysterious white beam appeared infront of them.  
"What the..." He heard his friend, Gatti mutter over the intercom.  
The white guymelef disappeared under the beam along with a girl with unfamiliar clothes. They were gone.  
  
The female prisoner was placed into a dark room lit only by candlelight, in the Vione. Folken stared at her for a while, she  
had been bandaged up by the medics on the ship. She hadn't changed a bit since the ten years they had been apart. She still  
had the wavy brown hair and he same adorable face. She looked like she was 10 again when she was asleep, when in reality, she  
was 20 years old. He started to prepare the chemical to inject into her.  
iSorry Renet, /i he thought to himself, i but this is the only other choice I've got. /i  
This chemical was meant to make her lose her memory completely and forever. She would forget everything and everyone, including  
him. With the fresh slate, they intended to mold her into a ruthless Zaibach soldier. They planned to do numerous experiments  
on her body. They were going to change her identity just like they did for Dilandau. Her fate and personality would be  
altered so that she will be able to work cooperatively with Zaibach. He knew inside his mind that if she had a choice, she  
would rather die than work for Zaibach. Though, that was not what he wanted. He didn't want to lose her, he couldn't bear to  
kill her. He knew that his choice came with some risks. The experiments could be fatal to her body. Though, since the only  
other option was to execute her, he decided that it would be better to at least try to save her instead of doing nothing.  
Other risks involved her personality. It could be changed completely. She might even turn out even more insane than Dilandau.  
Another Dilandau was the last thing he wanted. Then he remembered what had happened to Dilandau, he realized that she could  
even change gender. Everything was getting too complicated. His original plans were to capture Van and Van only. It wouldn't  
have led up to this if she hadn't got in the way of his plans. She was protective of Van. He could tell that she thought  
of him almost like a younger brother. Whenever Folken was trying to capture him, she was always there, defending him. If  
Renet was on Zaibach's side, there would be nothing else obstructing the way of getting Van to join him too. He heard  
rustling in the corner of the room. She was awake.  
iDamn it. Renet, don't make it harder for me than it already is./i  
"W- Where am I?" She mumbled softly. Even her voice sounded the same as it did ten years ago.  
"You are in the floating fortress of Zaibach." He replied monotonely, setting down the bottle of liquid down on the table.  
He turned around to face her.  
"Zaibach?" Her eyebrows knitted together to display feelings of anger and frustration. "Van, where's Van? What did you do  
with him?!"   
"He escaped."  
Her tense body relaxed, then tensed up again. "What are you going to do with me?"  
He did not reply. She didn't have to know.  
"Tell me." Although her voice was small, it sounded commanding and forceful. She looked at his face carefully, looking for  
hints in his expressions but found none. She did notice something else though, he had a remarkable likeness to someone she  
knew a long time ago. The blue hair, the eyes, she felt like he knew him from somewhere.  
The caped figure turned around abruptly when he saw that she was looking at him in a curious fashion.  
She stood up from the bed. She had a throbbing headache and it was suddenly accompanied by dizziness. She found support from  
the wall. She was not in the right condition to escape.  
"Are you alright Renet?" iUgh!/i He clenched his teeth as soon as he realized his mistake.  
"How did you- Wh, who are you?" She grasped his arm and tried to turn him around to get a better look at his face. "Folken..."  
"No. You're mistaking me for someone else." He said, trying to get a better grip of the situation.  
iRenet, stop making it harder for me!/i  
She ignored his last comment. "It's you," she mouthed. This was such a shock to her that her voice wouldn't even come out  
properly.  
He took her warm hand off his metal arm, "Folken Fanel is dead. He died while slaying a dragon."  
"Stop denying it. I know who you are..."  
He said nothing and looked away.  
"Why didn't you return your family, your homeland?" Tears started to well up in her brown eyes as she remembered painful  
memories. "Do you even know how much I wept for you when you didn't return? You and Van were the only people I had in Gaea.  
And you abandoned me... You said that, after you get the drag-energist that you would be able to send me back to the Mystic  
Moon. I thought that you would keep your word." She paused, "But you didn't. After ten years... I'm still here."  
Folken was ashamed to think that he forgot about her. He was trying to forget about his life in Fanelia, leaving everything  
to work for Zaibach. He purposely chose to forget about her because he knew that he couldn't do anything about it. In the  
many years that Folken spent learning about science with Emperor Dornkirk, he had never been able to figure out how to send  
a person from the Mystic Moon back.  
iPerhaps getting rid of her memories of the Mystic Moon is the best way.../i he wondered, iit will get rid of her   
emotional pain. There's nothing else I can do for her now./i  
"I'm sorry," he said as he gripped her arm. He took the syringe in his hand and pierced her white skin. She struggled  
furiously but he did not let go. When all of the fluid in the syringe was in her body, she collapsed in his arms.  
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So how do you like the story so far? Please review! 


	2. New Identity

bChapter 2/b  
  
Standard Disclaimer:  
I don't own Escaflowne or any of the characters or anything else copyrighted that I mention in this story.  
This was made for non-profit reasons, etc, etc, etc.  
  
Author's Notes:  
Please review this story after reading it. Arigatou, minna-san!  
Italics are used for inner thoughts.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
"You let them destroy two of my Alseides units? Two?" Their captain was angry, real angry. There was fire in his eyes as he  
looked at the kneeling 'slayers. He bit a finger on his gloved hand, signaling that the dragonslayers were going to get  
punished.  
"Forgive us!" The dragonslayers wailed.  
"Step forward!" He commanded.  
Dalet and Chesta knew what was coming but stood up anyway. Chesta's large blue eyes were round with fear as he awaited his  
punishment. There was a loud smack as Chesta fell to the floor by the force of the slap. Next was Dalet, he was thrown to the  
floor beside Chesta. Leather on bare skin was extremely painful, the other slayers knew that well since they've all  
experienced it at one time or another. They all flinched as their commander's hand went down on the young soldiers' petrified  
faces.  
"I only say this once." Their leader continued sharply, "I don't need a couple of incompetants in my dragonslayers."  
"Yes sir."  
He sat back on his throne. He wasn't finished, "I've received word from Strategos that we are going to be admitting another  
'slayer into our barracks. Not much information has been let out to me about the new dragonslayer yet, we will get more info  
soon."  
His eyes went to Gatti, "I have chosen you and Dalet, to help the new recruit feel welcome here. He'll be arriving here in a  
a week or so. Be ready. That is all."  
The group of dragonslayers slowly got up and headed out the doors into their quarters to get ready for dinner.  
Dilandau sighed and rested his chin on his hand, i Great, another one./i He hated training new soldiers. He would have  
to teach him most of the basics and make him submissive to him also. iWhat a hassle/i  
  
The slayer with the shoulder-length haircut caught up to Gatti, "Hey, wait up!"  
Gatti looked at him, he seemed unusually cheerful for someone who had just been punished by their captain.  
"So, what are your thoughts about the new slayer?" Dalet asked excitedly.  
"My thoughts? Well, I guess I have to meet him first." Gatti responded honestly.  
"I think it'll be great to have a new slayer with us!" He smiled, the pulling of the muscle in his cheek made it hurt and  
burn, "Ow..."  
"Dilandau-sama will get a lot crankier." Gatti rolled his eyes, "You know how he gets when new soldiers don't obey. Punching  
them is not enough for him. He feels has to punch us too to get the stress out. Remember when Miguel first came?"  
"Oh, I was trying to forget about that time. My face was sore for weeks. I had bruises on top of bruises."  
"That reminds me, I gotta get an icepack for my cheek."  
"I'll go with you," Gatti offered and followed him to the direction of the doctor's office.  
  
Folken nervously stood in front of the door to the medical room. A week had passed and it has been confirmed by the madoshi  
that the experiments were finally complete. A million thoughts stampeded through his mind. iWhat if...?/i  
He gathered up his courage and managed to knock on the door.  
"The door's not locked."  
He gasped, the voice sounded a lot like Dilandau's, with the same kind of attitude and style of speech. He froze, it sounded  
like he was male. He felt like his nightmare had come true. With an unhappy heart, he trudged into the room.  
"Dilandau." He said as he felt a wave of relief pass through him. iSo it was Dilandau./i  
"Folken, I wasn't expecting you." He sounded fairly surprised.  
"What are doing in a hospital bed? Are you sick?"  
"No, I'm just here for a check-up. I'll be out in half an hour."  
"Oh." Folken didn't know what to say next. He felt awkward standing there, he was in the wrong room. He wanted desperately to  
get out and search for Renet but he knew that Dilandau will notice that something was up if he left so suddenly.  
"Any news on the new slayer?" Dilandau quickly changed the subject.  
"I'll probably get back to you on that this afternoon. Let's have wine together."  
"Sure, alright." He wore a mischievious grin on his face.  
Folken could feel him catching on to what was happening. Dilandau knew that he wasn't here to see him.  
The awkward moment was broken when a doctor came into the room, "Mr. Albatou."  
Folken took this as a cue to leave. Dilandau would probably ask him about this encounter during the wine break. He was a  
person who asked questions point-blank. Folken had to think of an excuse before then.  
For now though, he rushed to leave. He checked with the receptionist again to find the right room. The woman had apparently  
mistaken room 3 with room 8.  
  
Folken did not hesitate as much as he did before when he knocked on the door. He felt braver this time. When there was no  
answer, he decided to creep into the room silently. He sat down at the foot of the bed. He was amazed, it didn't look like  
Renet at all. Renet's long, wavy locks were no longer wavy. It was straight, silky and the color of his own hair. Her hair  
went down to almost her waist. She was still beautiful, but in a different way.  
Her red-pink eyes shot open and glared at him with a serious expression. "Who are you?" she questioned him, she did not  
mumble or stutter. Folken could tell that she felt no fear.  
"I'm Folken, of Zaibach."  
"Really." Her voice was not sweet and sugary like Renet had been before. It dripped with seriousness and eerie calmness. It  
held its own charm. "Where am I headed next?" She asked trying to sit up on the bed.  
He was about to order her to put on the dragonslayer's uniform but reconsidered. The girl had to be able to make her own  
decision about her direction in life.  
"You have a choice. You can either join the Dragonslayers, Zaibach's elite army. Or you can come with me to gain knowledge of  
science and eventually work with me to improve current inventions or create new ones." He hoped in his mind that she would  
choose to come with him. He wanted her to work with him, be with him.  
The corners of her mouth formed a slight smile. She tilted her head a bit to the side and looked at him, "What do you think I  
will choose?"  
"I don't know."  
"Then guess."  
"D-Did you want to come with me?"  
"No." She replied, then her shoulders started to shake and an insane giggle left her throat. She cocked her head back and  
giggled madly.  
iWhat happened to her, is she insane?/i  
"I want to... FIGHT!" At the word fight, her eyes got larger. There was something unnatural about her face.  
It was chilling to see her go from one emotion to another so quickly. One minute she was serious, the next moment, she was  
giggling insanely.  
iGood luck Dilandau, she has chosen to be a Dragonslayer./i  
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So how do you like the story so far? Please review! 


	3. First Meeting

bChapter 3/b  
  
Standard Disclaimer:  
I don't own Escaflowne or any of the characters or anything else copyrighted that I mention in this story.  
This was made for non-profit reasons, etc, etc, etc.  
  
Author's Notes:  
Please review this story after reading it. Arigatou, minna-san!  
Italics are used for inner thoughts.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Dilandau sat waiting for him at his usual spot, staring into a glass of vino in his hand.  
"Who were you really visiting at the med centre?" Dilandau asked, not looking away from his glass, "I know that you didn't  
come to visit me."  
"I was visiting the future dragonslayer. The receptionist gave me the wrong room." Folken replied after he took a sip of  
wine.  
"The soldier's sick?" Dilandau took his gaze off his glass to look at him with a concerned expression on his face.  
"No, just a check up." He lied.  
Dilandau cared a lot about the soldiers under his command, even though it didn't seem like it to others. He hadn't even met  
Renet yet but the look on his face told him that he was concerned.  
"When will I meet the slayer?"  
"You'll meet Re-" He stopped himself, if he were to change her identity, he had to change everything, even her name.  
"ciel after dinner today in the throne room." He quickly added. Her light blue hair reminded him of the sky.  
"Reciel?"  
iThat's a strange name for a guy./i Dilandau thought to himself, iIt sounds more like a girl's name. /i  
"Yes." He got up from his seat, putting his glass gently on the table "I'm sorry to leave so soon, but I have to meet with  
the socerers to discuss... some business."  
Dilandau sensed that something weird was going on. He was good at figuring out what was going on around him. He paid attention  
to fine details that other people didn't. Folken was becoming more secretive than usual and it all started after he announced  
that a new slayer was going to be joining him. He hated being kept in the dark, especially about someone under his command.  
Everything was strange, this was probably the shortest wine meeting that they had ever had. Dilandau had always enjoyed these  
meetings. He was disappointed at the shortness of this one. He took another gulp of his wine and stared off into space, thinking.  
  
"Have you noticed anything strange about her when you met her?" The sorcerer with glasses that hung on his nose asked Folken.  
"I noticed that she went through a lot of mood swings. One moment she was serious, then another moment she starts giggling."  
"Well yes, we noticed that too. It is sort of like Dilandau isn't it?"  
"It is slightly more intensified for her though."  
"We're planning to give her some pills for that. That'll get rid of the mood swings for a while. Here." He handed him a  
bottle of red pills, "Give this to her every 24 hours. Once the transition is almost complete you can give it to her every 48  
hours. We'll gradually reduce the dosage as time goes on until the transition is permanent."  
"How long would that take?"  
"Unfortunately, we don't know yet. For Dilandau, the transition is still not complete and his body keeps on wanting to revert  
back to his original form."  
"Although, it might take a shorter time for the female subject for the complete transition to occur."  
iFemale subject, subject.../i The voice echoed through Folken brain. They thought of her as a mere lab rat. iHow dare  
they!/i  
  
He felt a tug on his cloak, he looked down to see a smiling, tiny face peering into his. It was the face of Renet, when she  
was young, 10 years ago... He thought he felt himself smile. He blinked and looked at her again. It was no longer the smiling  
face of the sweet Renet, it was the solemn face of Reciel. He had just imagined Renet's face. It wasn't reality. Reciel was  
the reality.  
"Folken-sama," the girl started, Renet had never called him that, she was someone else. "When would I meet the captain of the  
Dragonslayers?"  
"After dinner, I'll take you to him." He handed her a bottle of red pills, "Swallow this before you meet him."  
"What is it?" She said slightly making a face.  
"Just take it, it'll help you."  
  
The door to the throne room opened. A girl wearing an oversized, blue dragonslayer's uniform appeared. Dilandau's right eye  
twitched, "Who are you?"  
"My name is Reciel," She recited, remembering what the cloaked man had told her to say. "And I am here to serve you as a  
dragonslayer."  
iReciel was female?/i  
Dilandau rubbed his temples in frustration. "If you are a dragonslayer, you must bow when you come into the room."  
Reciel had a confused expression on her face, iFolken-sama never told me about this. How do I do it?/i She attempted to  
do a bow by bending her waist 90 degrees and came up again.  
The captain looked at her like she was stupid. "Not like that!" He cried. He slapped her on the face and she fell to the  
ground with a thump. "Get up!" He ordered. The crumpled body did not move. "I said get up!" He restrained himself from  
kicking her. He realized that she was uncontious. iShe's down? After one slap? I didn't even slap her hard! Why do they  
keep on sending me these weaklings?/i He picked her up from the ground, she was almost as tall as him but surprisingly  
light. He carried her to the med room and requested a doctor to come.  
  
Dilandau had thought that the force of the the slap was what made her unconcious but that wasn't the real reason she fell  
and couldn't get up. Reciel wasn't that weak, Renet had once been a skilled guymelef pilot in Fanelia who was known to be as  
strong and as enduring as the men. Reciel, of course, had no recollection of any of this but even she knew that she could  
withstand a simple slap. There was something wrong with her body.  
  
"Mr. Albatou, you may leave now." the doctor said as he arrived in the room with a Zaibach socerer. Dilandau refused to leave  
the room but they dragged him out anyway. iWhy did a Zaibach socerer come in to her room?/i He asked himself, iAll she  
needs is a good doctor./i He shuddered, those socerers gave him the creeps. He anxiously paced around the throne room with  
a bottle of wine in his hand.  
  
Folken was notified of this a few minutes later, he was dying to see her. Though, the madoshi wouldn't even let him in the  
room where she was in. He regretted putting her with Dilandau. He thought that Renet's strength as a Fanelian warrior would have  
rubbed off on Reciel. Apparently, it didn't, she was too weak.  
  
Dallet nudged his friend, "You ask."  
"No, you do it." Gatti whispered back.  
"He likes you better!"  
"He does not, I get punched out way more than you."  
"They're punches of love." Dallet whined, "He punches the people he likes. Come on~"  
The two boys were outside the door to the throne room. They have been told by their captain that the new dragonslayer would be  
coming today but no one came. They were getting worried. They had made a decision for one of them to ask Dilandau-sama but they  
haven't decided who yet.  
"There's only one fair way to resolve this. Paper, scissors, rock. What do you say?" Gatti consulted.  
"Oh, alright." Dallet unhappily agreed. Strangely, Gatti seemed to always win while playing this.  
iGood old Dallet, he always chooses rock. I'm gonna win for sure./i Gatti chuckled to himself.  
"Damn it, you won again!" Dallet cried, louder than he was supposed to be.  
Dilandau heard this loud word of profanity and opened the throne room door. "Which one of you was dumb enough to swear that loud?"  
Neither of them said a word.  
"I asked you a question! Answer me before I slap both of you!"  
"I, I did si-" Before Dallet could finish, a strong punch flew at him, boxing his ears. He was tossed to the ground like a rag  
doll. Dallet cringed but he stood up again.  
"I don't want anyone in the dragonslayers to speak like low-class peasants, do you hear me?"  
"Yes sir!"  
"Idiots..." Dilandau muttered under his breath as he turned around. He was stopped by Dallet, "Sir..."  
"What?" Dilandau barked.  
"We were wondering where the new slayer was."  
Dilandau just ignored him and stepped into his throne room. There was a loud bang as the door shut in Dallet's face.  
"That made me feel very stupid." Dallet commented, his face red for several reasons.  
Gatti laughed at him, "I know, Dallet."  
  
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Author's Notes:  
I hope it didn't sound like I was bashing Dallet ^^ I wasn't trying to, I really like the guy.  
I was merely trying to show his sweet, innocent side.  
So how do you like the story so far? Please review! It really keeps me going! 


	4. Strangely Beautiful

Chapter 3  
  
Standard Disclaimer:  
I don't own Escaflowne or any of the characters or anything else copyrighted that I mention in this story.  
This was made for non-profit reasons, etc, etc, etc.  
  
Author's Notes:  
This is a chapter that was written to explain the history and personalities of the characters. It doesn't have much action yet. Gomen nasai!  
Please review this story after reading it. Arigatou, minna-san!  
Italics are used for inner thoughts.  
  
It had been over two hours since she was admitted into the medical centre. Since then, Folken hadn't budged at all from his seat outside her door. He realized that there was probably going to be a huge pile of paper on his desk when he gets back to his lab.  
What was he doing here? He had just wasted precious time doing nothing. He was letting his emotions take control of him. Did he still have feelings for Renet? No, he reminded himself, we were both adolescents then. It didn't mean anything. He had only been fifteen when the mysterious girl from the Mystic Moon had appeared in his life unexpectedly. He had found her body in the forest, unfortunately a pack of bandits had found her first. If he hadn't taken her to the castle, she would have bled to death. Renet had stayed with him because she had no where else to go. No one except Folken knew her true origins. To the others it remained a mystery. Even Van wasn't allowed to know and she and Van were extremely close. As time passed on, Folken and Renet had gotten even closer. He had dreams of marrying her after he became king. He saw how childish those thoughts were now. It would never happen¡¦  
The sound of the door opening made Folken's heart skipped a beat. The group of sorcerers left the room in an organized manner with their snooty noses high in the air. He stopped the passing leader with his arm.  
"What was wrong with her?"  
"It turns out that Dilandau had nothing to do with it. It was her own fault." He smirked.  
The sorceror seemed to enjoy Folken's flustered expression. It was rare to see him like this. He loved the fact that he knew something Folken didn't.  
"How was it her fault?"  
"She overdosed on her medication. She took too many of the red pills. Dilandau just gave her a shock. It's nothing serious. She'll be okay in the morning. Don't disturb her now. Let her rest in the room for now." After saying that, the sorcerer left with the trail of other cloaked figures behind him.  
  
Trying not to make a sound, Dilandau carefully opened the door to where Reciel was staying and crept in. He wanted to check up on how she was doing. He didn't want to admit it but he felt bad about putting her in the med centre.  
(A/N: I'm not quite sure, is this out of character? I think Dilandau cares a lot about his dragonslayers so I don't think he'll feel good about putting one of them in hospital. I belive that he'll slap them for discipline but I don't think he would go as far as to beat them unconscious. That's just my opinion though. My view of Dilandau is different from most people).  
He knew that the socerers wouldn't allow him to come in to the room but he never listened to them anyway. As long as they don't know, it would be fine.  
The sun was not up completely yet, outside the window, the sky was a dark blue. This atmosphere gave the room a cold and empty feeling.  
"Good morning. Dilandau-sama." Reciel saluted him mechanically. Somehow, it sounded very rehearsed. She stared at him with a serious expression.  
Dilandau slouched on the armchair next to the bed and made an effort to get comfortable. He didn't even bother looking at her when he spoke to her. "I didn't get a chance to finish what I was saying earlier. There are a few things you have to know. You are expected to wake up at 5:30 am everyday. Breakfast is at 6:00 am. Training starts at 7 o' clock sharp. You will be punished if you are late. There is a break for 30 minutes at 10:00am. At 10:30, there is a mandatory study session. Lunch is at 1 and you are free to do anything until 2 o' clock. After that we begin guymelef training. All dragonslayers must report to the hangar at this time. Dinner is served at 5 and ends at 6. The rest is all free time but most people use this time to do work assigned from the study session. Everyone must be ready to go to sleep at 9. All the lights in the Vione will be off. The soldiers are allowed to chat quietly for that hour. After that, if I catch you talking, I'll make sure that you won't get any sleep for that whole night. To help you, I've paired you up with two of my dragonslayers, Gatti and Dallet. You'll meet them in the breakfast hall. I hope I made everything clear."  
"Hai." She replied, still looking at him.  
She didn't take her eyes off of him until he left the room.  
She's so creepy, Dilandau thought as he closed the door behind him, it's almost scary.   
Who is this girl? Why do I feel cold shivers down my spine whenever she looks at me? I shouldn't have even bothered to check on her¡¦  
On the other side of the door, Reciel was thinking the exact opposite, He's handsome, and I think I like him. He'll be mine.  
Folken saw Dilandau coming from the direction of Reciel's room. They both greeted each other politely with a nod and continued on their separate ways.  
I guess Dilandau was worried about her, Folken noted, will wonders never cease?  
He knocked and went inside, "Are you feeling better?"  
She nodded.  
"They told me that you took too many of those pills."  
"I wasn't sure how many I was supposed to take." She responded. Her tone wasn't a friendly tone but it wasn't a hostile tone either. It was the tone that she always used, but it annoyed Folken now. He was being kind to her but she wasn't returning any of his kindness. Being a patient person, he let it pass, She'll warm up to me soon.  
"I guess that was my fault, I forgot to tell you."  
There was a brief silence in the room.  
"Can I know what time it is?"  
"It's 5:38."  
She zipped up her jacket armor over her light blue, cotton lace-up shirt. "I have to go get ready now."  
  
Dallet peered at himself in the mirror. There was a big blue bruise on the left side of his face. He grimaced as he touched his delicate wound. He cared about his face as much as his commander did. It was the first thing a person saw when they looked at him. It was important to take care of it.  
"Dallet!" His roommate pounded his fist on the wooden door, "How much longer are you going to be in the bathroom?"  
He sighed as he took his gaze away from the mirror. "Alright, alright¡¦"  
"What exactly do you do in there anyways? Geez¡¦"  
Gatti was not exactly a morning person and sharing a bathroom with him didn't help. Dallet was used to it though. He had been his roommate for 2 years and had been his best friend for his whole life. They had met when they were young; they shared the same homeland. Sometimes when they felt homesick, they would talk about the past. It didn't cheer them up that much, it made them even more homesick but they felt a bit better knowing that there was someone else who felt the same way.  
At 6 o'clock, the two friends headed down to the breakfast hall for bland omelettes, wheat bread and cereal. They were usually the first ones to come but today, they were second.  
"Who's that?" Dallet asked, eyes wide. Sitting at the dragonslayers' table was a girl that they had never seen before. The only women in the Vione worked in the kitchen and none of them looked like this. She took his breath away.  
"Do you think she's the new slayer?" Gatti replied.  
"She's beautiful¡¦"  
"Act like more like man! You're blushing."  
They made their way to the table and sat down beside her. That was when they saw her bruise.  
"Hey, you guys look alike! The side of your faces are both blue."  
Dallet shot him a look. That was definitely not the best thing to say. She quickly put her hand on her cheek in an effort to hide it.  
"I guess you met Dilandau-sama." Dallet began.  
She nodded slowly, unsure of what to do.  
"He might seem like a mean person right now but he's not that bad once you know him better." He was trying his best to be as friendly as possible, "By the way, I'm Dallet and this guy with the big mouth is Gatti."  
"I'm Reciel."  
"We're going to be your guide for a while until you get accustomed to everything." Gatti said remembering his manners once again.  
"Okay."  
The rest of the morning was very awkward. Dallet was looking forward to sword training to get all his nervousness and anxiety out of his system.   
____________________________________________________________________________________________  
How did you like this chapter? Did I get Dilandau's character right?  
I will follow the timeline for Escaflowne. I am going to make it so that everything in this story fits into the series without changing anything. So you can read it like it actually happened.  
I would appreciate it if you tell me what you think, it gives me motivation and it also makes me happy. J Suggestions for the next chapter are nice too.  
Stay tuned for the next chapter!  



	5. Sparring

Chapter 3  
  
Standard Disclaimer:  
I don't own Escaflowne or any of the characters or anything else copyrighted that I mention in this story.  
This was made for non-profit reasons, etc, etc, etc.  
  
Author's Notes:  
I'm not very good at description of fights. Don't expect too much.  
Sorry that I haven't written for so long, school and my Dilandau Shrine's been keeping me busy... You can see it out by going to my profile.  
Sorry but this chapter is going to be pretty short.  
  
"Guimel and Viole... Dallet and Gatti... Reciel and Miguel... Chesta, it seems like you're the lucky one who's sparring with me today." Dilandau smirked as he saw the blondhaired dragon slayer's body tense up. Dilandau knew himself that he was very brutal when it came to fighting. Each practice session resulted multiple scars to his partner. He refused to use fake swords during training and he never allowed any of the other dragonslayers to use them either. They didn't use fake swords during real combat so he found no reason to use at all. Never had his method led to any serious wounds and he was confident that it was going to stay that way. They didn't qualify to be in this army if they got hurt during a simple training session.  
  
Dallet felt a twinge of jealousy as he saw Miguels's face brighten when he found out that Reciel was paired up with him. Did Miguel like her too? Gatti sensed that Dallet wasn't happy to be with him. He sent his partner a disappointed look. Dallet felt guilty, he forgot all about Gatti. He should have been glad that he was paired with him but he wasn't. He forced himslef to grin at his partner.  
  
Miguel was indeed content with the pairings but his reasons were completely different from what Dallet thought. For the longest time, Miguel was always the one who was paired up with Dilandau-sama. He had enough cuts to prove it. It was true that he was happy to be paired up with Reciel but that was because she was a girl who looked like she had never held a sword in her life. Today, he could show Dilandau-sama what he could do. Everyone was scattered around the large area. He unsheathed his sword and waited for his partner to do the same. She gripped it tightly and faced him with a look of determination. It didn't display any feelings of nervousness as he had expected. He took his chances and swung first. Maybe that will scare her a bit. a There was a loud clang as the two swords met. He was surprised that she was able to block it. Luck... He reassured himself and took his sword away from hers to aim somewhere else. She blocked it again. Maybe she had fought before... This momentary feeling of surprise gave an opening to the female dragon slayer who pinned him against the wall with her sword. His own sword was the only thing keeping the sharp point from sinking it harder into his chest. Her thin red lips curled into a smile and she wore an expression that could only be translated as bloodlust. Miquel had never seen this side of her before. Right now, it was a test of strength. Though, it felt like him arms couldn't handle it, his shakey arms couldn't hold back much longer. How could some one of her size have so much strength in those arms? He pushed back with all his might and he was able to thrust her sword away from him. She swiftly kept her balance and shot at him again. He watched hopelessly as his sword flew out of his grip. The match was over, she had won. His head bowed in shame, when he looked up again, he saw Reciel's sword coming right at him! His eyes widened. The fight wasn't over at all.  
"Stop!" He cried furiously, the sword narrowly missing his neck. "The fight's over."  
  
"I think it's just beginning to get interesting." She replied nonchalently and swung her deadly weapon again.  
This time, he couldn't dodge it completely and his shoulder was bleeding like a fountain. "Dilandau-sama!" He screamed, his only hope.  
  
Dilandau turned his head from his own fight to see what was going on. Instantly, Dilandau interfered and stood between them blocking the attempt that could have been fatal to one of his soldiers. "What are you doing!"  
  
She was strong but her superior was stronger and he easily knocked the sword from her hand. As soon as the sword was out of her hand, she crumpled to her knees.  
  
"What's the matter with you?" Dilandau yelled again.  
  
A confused look came over her face. "I-I don't know, it wasn't me..." It seemed like the world froze for a minute. All the others were watching the scene. No one cared about training, a real fight was taking place right in front of them.  
  
Dilandau withdrew his hand back to slap her but then remembered what happened last time he did that. He didn't want her unconscious again. He just slapped the nearest 'slayer who just happened to be poor Dallet. (A/N: Why do I keep picking on him? Because I like him and that's how the story's plot goes ~.') "Gatti, take Miguel to the medical room."  
  
"Yes sir!" He helped his fellow dragonslayer up on his feet and helped him walk.  
  
Dilandau glared at Reciel, "I'll deal with you later." Hopefully he would have thought of something by then. He retired to his throne room. Taking it as a cue to leave, the other dragonslayers followed deserting the confused dragonslayer. Dallet glanced at her once before he left, he felt bad for leaving her by herself. He knew that what she did was wrong so he couldn't help feeling sorry for her. He fought the urge to comfort her and followed Gatti to the medical room. She might prefer to be alone for a while.  
  
Author's Notes: Alright, it's very short. I tried not to make it too much like a cliffhanger so that it won't be too agonizing. (Believe me, I know how it feels) It' might be a while before I write more but reviews always help me write. Please, please, please review!!! Even if it's one word, I don't mind! I like to know what you guys think :) Thanks everyone! 


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